The Golden Hour Birth Podcast

Send a text This is part 2 of 2 of Sam's perspective of his and our host, Natalie's children's births. In this emotionally raw and deeply personal episode, we delve into the untold stories of fatherhood and the hidden traumas that often accompany it. Sam shares his journey of becoming a father and the unexpected challenges that unfolded in the aftermath of his child's birth. Wi...

Send a text Part 1 of 2. Join hosts Liz and Natalie in this heartfelt episode of the Golden Hour birth podcast as they invite Natalie's husband, Sam, to share his perspective on their children's births. From the excitement and magic of their first child to the unexpected news of their second pregnancy, Sam candidly reflects on the rollercoaster of emotions he experienced during both preg...

Send a text Heather shares the stories of her three births. Her first and third pregnancies included managing gestational diabetes. Her second postpartum experience was met with postpartum anxiety as she discovered her daughter had a dairy intolerance and Heather became fixated on what she was consuming. Her third baby also ended up having a dairy intolerance and Heather and her husband decided to...

Send a text Maya from the Bay Area joins us on this episode to share the birth of her 2 daughters. Maya knew she always wanted to be a mother. She didn’t expect it to be so difficult to get pregnant but once she got there, the pregnancy went well. At 33 weeks, she experienced contractions and bleeding. She went into the hospital and they gave her medicine to stop labor and sent her home. Two weeks...

Send a text New to The Golden Hour Birth Podcast? Start here to enjoy a few clips from Season 1 and to hear from us about what this podcast is all about.  We are two average Midwest moms having authentic conversations surrounding birth stories. We’re here to laugh with you, cry with you, and hold space for you while normalizing all of the unknowns that have caused us to pivot through this empoweri...

Send a text Today’s episode features Kaitlin, a mom of three, a doula, and the founder of BeHerVillage. Two days postpartum, Kaitlin found herself in her son’s nursery struggling to get herself and her son ready for the first pediatrician appointment. It was then that she realized postpartum moms needed SUPPORT over expensive baby gifts. From there she founded BeHerVillage.  BeHerVillage is a comp...

Send a text *Trigger Warning* : This story contains a maternal and fetal near-miss. This is part 3 of 3. In this episode, we continue Nicolette's story of her experience with a splenic artery aneurysm during her second labor. Nicolette shares the challenges she faced during the delivery and the aftermath of the emergency surgery she underwent.  Nicolette also opens up about the emotional impa...

Send a text In honor of Disability Book Week, today's mini episode features Karley, a previous guest on the podcast and newly published author! Disability Book Week, held on April 23-29 each year, invites individuals all over the world to become more inclusive with what they read by reading a book that features a main character with a disability.  Karley's second daughter, Nora, was born...

Send a text *Trigger Warning* : This story contains a maternal and fetal near-miss. This is part 2 of 3. Welcome back to the Golden Hour Birth Podcast! In this episode, we continue our conversation with Nicolette as she shares the second part of her powerful birth story. In this candid and deeply personal interview, Nicolette opens up about her experience with a splenic aortic aneurysm during her...

Send a text *Trigger Warning* : This story contains a maternal and fetal near-miss. This is part 1 of 3. Nicolette, a Labor & Delivery Nurse, from Virginia shares her first and second birth stories. Ten years ago, she had her first child. When she was 6 months old, she decided to become a L&D nurse. Ten years later, she and her husband decided to have another child and quickly got pregnant...

Send a text Mindy Duff from Iowa joins us on this week's episode to share her three births. She is the host of the podcast, Up-level Your Life with Mindy, as well as a speaker, certified holistic health and nutrition coach and a published author. Her mission is to help individuals uncover their best selves through the power of self-care and self-love. Mindy's first child was born at 37 w...

Send a text Join our co-host Natalie as she shares her second birth story with her daughter! Her pregnancy brought first trimester nausea, some depression, and a breech presentation at 34 weeks. Her last few weeks including trying everything to get the baby to flip, and her whole household sick the entire month of her due date! She opted for augmentation after a premature rupture of membranes at 3...

Send a text Kaitlyn from St. Louis joins us on the podcast to share part 2 of her birth story! Kaitlyn and her husband Matt met in Kindergarten and started dating in college. Matt proposed to Kaitlyn 10 days before she was set to start her Nurse Anesthetists Program. They started trying in 2020 to conceive and found out they were pregnant fairly quickly. Pregnancy was fairly easy for the most part...

Send a text Kaitlyn from St. Louis joins us on the podcast to share her birth story! Kailtyn and her husband Matt met in Kindergarten and started dating in college. Matt proposed to Kaitlyn 10 days before she was set to start her Nurse Anesthetists Program. They started trying in 2020 to conceive and found out they were pregnant fairly quickly. Pregnancy was fairly easy for the most part and decid...

Send a text Lindsey from St. Louis joins us in sharing her triumphs and tribulations to starting a family. Her and husband knew they always wanted a family when they both grew up with multiple siblings. They started trying and quickly got pregnant. These two pregnancies both were miscarriages followed by D&C’s. After these two miscarriages they asked for additional testing and everything came...

Send a text In this episode, we hear the inspiring story of Melisha, a mother who has given birth three times and also gone through an adoption journey. Melisha shares her experience of navigating motherhood and wellness, and how it has led her to become an advocate for others. Melisha always knew that she wanted to have natural births. She felt strongly about the importance of trusting her body a...

Send a text Rianna from Texas joined us on the podcast this week sharing her four birth stories. Her four kids range in ages from 18 to 4. She had her first son in a hospital and ate an apple while she filled out paperwork while in labor, and met her delivery doctor in the elevator. When her son was around 2 he was diagnosed with lead poisoning which led Rianna down a more natural path.  For her s...

Send a text This is part 2 of Kelly Stary's birth story. In part 1 Kelly told us about her prolonged pushing leading to an emergency c-section. She developed an infection during all of this and continued to be in immense pain. When she was released form the hospital on pain meds, she was in and out of consciousness if she was late on her meds by even 10 minutes. The pain got so bad she called...

Send a text This is Part 1 of 2. Kelly was living in the Czech Republic for four years, where she met her now husband with a plan to return to the states and start traveling out west and around South America. Right before they headed back to the US, Kelly found out she was pregnant! They decided to move back to Kelly’s hometown of St. Louis and reassess their travel plans when the time felt right....

Send a text Katie Wood, a pharmacist and fertility coach, shares her birth story on this episode! After coming off of birth control for 13 years Katie and her husband struggled to get pregnant and received no nutritional or supportive advice from her OB or midwife. She decided to start acupuncture and 3-4 months later she conceived her daughter. Her pregnancy was healthy, although she did have a c...

Send a text This is part 2 of Bonnie's birth story. Bonnie didn't feel well for a few days and thought she was just experiencing heartburn. She started to think something was not normal and couldn't sleep due to the pain in her chest. She went to the hospital and found out she had HELLP (Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelets) Syndrome, which is a life-threatening pregn...

Send a text This is part 1 of 2. Bonnie joins us today to share the story of her daughter, Sabrina! Bonnie and her husband met in college and married in 2018. They decided to start trying to start a family around 2020. When they went in for their “confirmation” appointment, they were met with the news of a miscarriage and decided to move forward with a D&C. They tried again and got news in Dec...

Send a text Join us this week as we chat about the stigma behind "Breast is Best." Liz and Natalie share their own experience with the trials, tribulations, and beloved PIVOTS to ensure their children were meeting their goals and growth through nutrition. There can be so much stigma on mothers and parents regarding the way they choose to feed their children and the best way we can suppor...

Send a text Tia from North Carolina joins us on this week's episode as she shares the birth stories of her two children, now 19 and 13 years old! She always wanted to be a mother and after finding out she was pregnant, she remembers thinking her life has officially changed forever. Tia had wanted to be a midwife at that time in her life so she was very prepared for her first birth. She had he...

Send a text Many parents experience mild mood changes during pregnancy and after giving birth. 15-20% of those experience more significant symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. It's estimated that up to 50% of those experiencing postpartum depression or anxiety never get a formal diagnoses or seek treatment. One reason for this may be not having knowledge of the signs and symptoms of PPD and...